New Heart Failure Policy Network report explores the opportunities for change following updated heart failure guidelines
16 June 2022
As secretariat to the Heart Failure Policy Network (HFPN), we are pleased to share the launch of a new report, From guidelines to action: opportunities for change following the 2021 ESC guidelines. The report provides an overview of the changes in the 2021 European Society of Cardiology heart failure guidelines, and how these can be used as a catalyst to improve heart failure care.
From guidelines to action also describes potential barriers that might prevent guideline recommendations being translated into action at the national and local levels, and suggests how these barriers may be overcome. It provides four ‘policy hooks’ that can be used to engage policymakers and decision-makers, alerting them to the importance of enacting these guidelines across Europe:
- Focus on preventing hospitalisations
- Highlight how heart failure relates to other conditions
- Encourage monitoring of quality indicators
- Put quality of life at the heart of the discussion.
The HFPN held a webinar on 15 June to discuss the findings from the report, featuring experts in heart failure from Germans Trias Pujol University Hospital and Santiago de Compostela University Hospital in Spain, Cyprus University of Technology, the European Society of Cardiology’s Patient Forum and Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland. The webinar also saw the launch of a new animated video explaining the key changes in the guidelines.
Over 10 million people in Europe are living with heart failure, but almost 30% of them do not receive the best-practice care recommended by clinical guidelines. The new guidelines represent a significant opportunity to address this gap and improve heart failure care.
Find out more on the HFPN website.